Why Apple’s decision to keep releasing 16GB iPhones is so obnoxious

If there’s been one major complaint about the iPhone 6s so far it’s that Apple has once again decided to give the entry-level version of the device just 16GB of storage instead of 32GB or higher. Vox’s Matthew Yglesias persuasively argues that there is no justification for Apple to continue releasing new 16GB iPhones other than as a cynical cash grab to boost the average selling price of its smartphones.

First, it’s pretty obvious by now that a 16GB iPhone 6s just won’t deliver a good user experience. Why? Mostly because the amount of space our apps, photos and videos take up on our phones these days means most users will hit the 16GB threshold in almost no time. This is especially true when you consider that the iPhone 6s allows for the filming of 4K videos that will positively blow through your 16GB of storage. Why add this great new feature if low storage on the device hurts your ability to fully enjoy it?

What makes the decision to stick with 16GB truly inexcusable, however, is the fact that it would cost Apple very little to offer 32GB phones as entry-level models. Consider that the 64GB storage chip Apple uses in the iPhone 6s costs just $20 and yet Apple charges $100 more for the 64GB iPhone 6s than it does for the 16GB iPhone 6s.

Added to this, as Yglesias notes, Apple is an insanely profitable company with more money than it knows what to do with. Offering a 32GB iPhone 6s would deliver a better user experience that would barely put a dent in Apple’s profitability.

“Killing the 16GB phone and replacing it with a 32GB model at the low end would obtain things money can’t buy — satisfied customers, positive press coverage, goodwill, a reputation for true commitment to excellence, and a demonstrated focus on the long term,” Yglesias writes. “A company in Apple’s enviable position ought to be pushing the envelop forward on what’s considered an acceptable baseline for outfitting a modern digital device, not squeezing extra pennies out of customers for no real reason.”